To head to the House: The bill that would extend Bush-era tax cuts and unemployment benefits, which the Senate passed yesterday, 81-19. The House will begin debate today, and may introduce an alternative bill that, compared to the Senate’s version, has a lower bar for millionaires to be subject to the estate tax and higher rate of taxation for those inheritances.

To head to the Senate: The stand-alone Don’t Ask Don’t Tell bill introduced and championed by Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman, which the House passed yesterday, 250-175. Harry Reid hopes to bring the bill up for a vote late this week or early next week, but warned that, “We are very quickly running out of days in this Congress.”

To “remain fragile and reversible”: Gains in Afghanistan, according to a White House report on our military progress there. President Obama will discuss the evaluation at a press conference today, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

To play with: The New York Times’ interactive map that uses data from the Census Bureau to show race, income, and education information for every block in the country.

To watch: The acrobatic act that four shirtless men in tight white pants performed yesterday—for the Pope.

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